The Story of Pop: 1999 (Chapter 40)

This is The Story of Pop: 1999. It’s the story, telling you, week by week, of all the UK chart movers and shakers of two whole decades ago. So if you were wondering what song about the sun shining connected with last week’s hit from Bob Marley, a hearty congratulations to you if you said it was…

British soul singer Gabrielle’s hit making career had begun in 1993, when she topped the UK charts with ‘Dreams’. Over the next four years, she continued to hit the top 10 – even finding time to duet with bad boys East 17 and pick up a clutch of awards along the way.

By the time October 1999 rolled around, she’d been musically quiet for a couple of years to focus on recording her third solo album, ‘Rise’, and also spend some much needed mum time with her son Jordan, who’d been born in 1995.

‘Sunshine’ was the first single from that album, and first in more than a year. A gentle yet uplifting reintroduction to the pop world, musically and lyrically it spoke about her new found love as a mum for her son.

It soon became a firm favourite on radio and subsequently in the burgeoning UK garage scene, when a remix of the single from Wookie gained popularity. After almost two years away, ‘Sunshine’ beamed Gabrielle back into the top 10 on this very week in 1999. And little did she know that even greater success was to follow for the ‘Rise’ album once 2000 arrived…

Don’t forget to follow our playlist on Spotify – updated weekly so you never miss a song from the story of pop in 1999. And you can leave your memories of the songs below in the comments or Tweet us, using the hashtag #StoryofPop1999.